|
|
queerVOICE
James Duggan
copyright 2009 |
There are three things we are told we should not talk about in polite company, specifically religion, politics and sex . . . well I guess I'm not very polite because I love talking about all three in all kinds of company. In fact, unless it's gory I'll talk about everything with anybody anywhere. So allow me a moment to talk about something I have only discussed in private out of concern for offending others.
Earlier this week I received an email from a noted member of our community. The email was informing us of the restoration of a local lesbian scholarship fund. I make no judgment on the individuals who are working on this fund or the fund itself. I believe that their efforts are good and noble. Who among us would not support more scholarships for queer students of either gender? I have no issue with their intent to honor a good woman or to help another. I applaud them and anyone who supports them.
What drew me to this subject was not the content of the email but the reaction to it. A steady theme grew out of the forwarded emails that were generated . . . most asking a similar question, "do we really need another nonprofit to duplicate the efforts of our existing nonprofits?" Even . . . and please forgive me for mentioning this in public but . . . should some of our nonprofits actually merge into one?
This question is not new. I've witnessed groups strategically merge together for the last 30 years. Over the last two years the practice of merging nonprofits has grown exponentially, especially as our economy worsens and the availability of funds continues to dwindle.
History has shown that those nonprofit organizations that merge frequently cite these benefits: increased effect and reach, fewer redundancies in a service area, less competition for funding, greater efficiency, stronger organizations, and the continuing ability to achieve their mission, albeit in a different form.
When David La Piana, a leading expert in the field of nonprofit mergers, was asked during an interview in the Business Courier of Cincinnati as to how big the need was for nonprofits to merger, he replied:
"If you ask the funders, they'll say there's a huge need, it's a crisis, it's horrible. There are so many nonprofits, and new ones being born every day, and the first thing they want is a new grant. And the funders see a lot of duplication from their point of view. But from the nonprofits' perspective, they're all doing something different. If there's one thing all nonprofits believe, it's that their nonprofit is unique. If there's one thing all funders believe, it's that all nonprofits are the same."
When asked what were the biggest hurdles for nonprofits to get over in order to achieve a merger, he points out that it is all too often the egos that get in the way of successful mergers. Le Piana stated that:
"The biggest hurdle by far is psychological, not practical. It's the nonprofit leaders themselves. Having spent 16 years myself as an executive director, I can identify. They tend to be the type of people who feel a huge need to be independent, run their own show. They can imagine a merger much more easily if they're guaranteed they will be the executive director once it's all over. Boards can also be part of the problem, where the boards have this long history and want to remain independent. Nobody wants to lose their job or position."
In our current economic climate perhaps it's time that our many nonprofits consider merging with each other. Just as an example, what would happen if the Delaware Valley Legacy Fund and the Sapphire Fund merged? Since each of these nonprofits have similar and unique missions it seems that if they merged into one organization they would become both economically and operationally stronger while retaining the goals that identified them at their beginnings.
Everyday, for-profit businesses merge or develop strategic alliances between other businesses . . . all for the purpose of successfully achieving their goals. Perhaps it's time for o ur nonprofits to take the same attitude. These are hard times and the need for a discussion about merging some of them is timely. It is far better to act during a position of strength then to wait too long a react out of crisis. Remember, as the saying goes, "change often leads to something better."
|
|
 |
What It Looks Like From Here
Thom Cardwell
copyright 2009 |
LAST DAY - Worth Making It If You Can!
 Queer photographer Robert Mapplethorpe was one of the most controversial artists of the contemporary world. He "looked at the times that he was living in and saw a place where he could make his mark. Then he carefully, deliberately craved out that place. Sexuality and controversy were among his tools. Mapplethorpe had talent. He had skill. He had vision. He was also attractive and charming, and he sought out friendships with people who could further him," observes biographer, writer and lover of Mapplethorpe, Jack Fritscher, in "Mapplethorpe: Assault with a Deadly Camera" (Hastings House, 1994).
This morning will be the second day that the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School, Room 110, 362 Walnut St., in University City, will be hosting "Imperfect Moments: Mapplethorpe and Censorship Twenty Years Later," with a full day of discussions and panels on February 13.
This special two-day program has been supported by the Philadelphia Exhibitions Initiative at The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage. Today's schedule of events begin at 9:45 a.m. with an introduction by Claudia Gould and Paula Marincola followed by "1989: Battleground Year" with Michael Brenson at 10 a.m. Two panel discussions follow; the first is "Artists: The Question of Freedom" at 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., with moderator Richard Meyer and panelists, Karen Kinley, Joseph Kosuth and Andres Serrano, then "Institutions: The Question of Courage" with moderator Robert Storr and panelists Michael Brenson, Sheldon Hackney, Kathy Halbreich and Raymond Learsy, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Two decades ago, the Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania organized "Robert Mapplethorpe: The Perfect Moment." According to the organizers:
The traveling retrospective was curated by Janet Kardon, who was the ICA Director from 1979 to 1989 and who organized many pioneering exhibitions for the institution. The show fell victim to public outcry against government sponsorship of "obscene" art when Washington's Corcoran Gallery of Art canceled its stop on the tour for fear of negative repercussions, especially its possible impact on NEA appropriations. The Corcoran's decision sparked a controversial national debate: Should tax dollars support the arts? Who decides what is "obscene" or "offensive" in public exhibitions? And if art can be considered free speech, is it a violation of the First Amendment to revoke federal funding on grounds of obscenity? To this day, these questions remain very much at issue.
Organizers of this two-day special symposium point out that the United States continues to have no clear or official cultural policy; the federal government does not grant fellowships to individual artists; and obscenity-based censorship persists, along with other content-based restrictions.
This program is co-presented by the Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia Exhibitions Initiative at The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage. Support is also provided by The Honickman Foundation, The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, The Emily and Jerry Spiegel Fund to Support Contemporary Culture and Visual Arts, Harvey S. Shipley Miller/The Judith Rothschild Foundation and Christie's.
For more information, visit icaphila.org
 |
|
|
speakOUT on the Qt!
A Guest Opinion Column
copyright 2009 |
|
This Week: Jesse Salazar - "Dont Ask, Don't Tell"
Over the last year, the LGBT community has faced gut-wrenching setbacks, like the Passage of Proposition 8, and inestimable accomplishments, like our unprecedented mobilization for Barack Obama and an unprecedented number of openly LGBT appointees to the new administration. Many in this country are astonished and appalled by our new inroads, but full equality is our only solace.
A repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law looks unusually promising under the new White House and Congress. This is the only federal law on the books that forces employers - in this case military commanders - to fire their employees - our service members - for being openly gay.
To fight terrorism and keep America safe, we need the very best soldiers we can get. We don't live in a world with the luxury of indulging old prejudice.
In Pennsylvania we have the good fortune of strong allies in our Congressional delegation, most notably Rep. Patrick Murphy, who famously defended our troops in the House (Video). They have gone above and beyond to do what's right, but they need our help.
President Obama has repeatedly called for getting rid of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." The Democratic Party, through its party platform adopted last August, has made it clear it wants to repeal the law. One hundred forty-nine members of Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, have co-sponsored a bill that aims to repeal the law. And 75 percent of Americans, according to a 2008 Washington Post poll, think gays and lesbians should be able to serve their country openly.
So we might finally be close to a major victory for the LGBT movement - but it's not going to happen overnight. Washington is and will be consumed with economic and foreign policy challenges. And although Obama has now moved to town, we still need you - and your straight and gay friends - to come shake things up even more in Washington.
Join the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) for a Freedom to Serve rally in Washington DC, at noon Friday, March 13, 2009, on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol. And bring your friends!
For more information about the Freedom to Serve Rally, and sign up, go to: sldn.org/freedomtoserverally.
SLDN's 17th Annual National Dinner and Silent Auction will take place the following day at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, March 14 at the National Building Museum. Go to sldn.org/events to learn more and sign up! [speakOUT on the Qt is a new opinion column, by guest writers. Do you have something to say that you wish to share with fellow QUEERtimes readers? Then submit your column by Tuesday, noon, for publication in the Friday of the same week. The publishers reserve the right to accept, decline or edit, for content, style, accuracy, and space, from what you submit. Anonymous submissions will be rejected without being read. A byline posting is required. Up to 450 word submissions accepted which must be accompanied by your personal contact information for verification.] Send copy to james@QUEERtimes.net
|
 |
Thoms' Table
Thom Cardwell
Copyright 2009 |
|
Stew . . . What Better Comfort Food
 Kildare's West Chester (18-22 West Gay St.), Kildare's King of Prussia (826 DeKalb Pike), Kildare's Manayunk (4417 Main St.), and Kildare's Montage (7011 Shoppes Blvd.) just made their properties even more comfortable than they already are. It's all about "comfort food" at all four locations where they've recently brought back all-you-can-eat Endless Stew Bowls menu at the original 2003 price of $10.95 ($12.95 with salad), available for lunch and dinner now through the end of February.
"Nothing tastes better than a bowl of piping hot Irish stew on a cold winter night", said owner Dave Magrogan. "And there is no better place to enjoy it than by the fire at Kildare's authentic Irish Pubs."
This specialty menu features: Guinness Beef Stew, a classic all its own, made with tender beef, slow cooked, carrots, potatoes & onions in a Guinness gravy with mashed potatoes; Hunter Style Chicken Stew, with a semi-boneless chicken in a Harp Lager broth with carrots, potatoes, onions and garbanzo beans, topped with crispy onions; Seafood Stew, made with shrimp, crab, salmon & cod with fresh vegetables in a herbed tomato broth with puff pastry crust; and Vegetable Stew (perfect for vegetarians and vegans) made with oven roasted vegetables, garbanzo beans, potatoes & fresh herbs in a vegetable stock, and garnished with fried zucchini sticks.
Magrogan also announced that his company will be expanding with more locations for his restaurant group and brands, Kildare's and Doc Magrogan's Oyster House, at the University of Scranton, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Notre Dame University in Indiana.
For more information call 610.431.0770 (West Chester), 610.337.47720 (King of Prussia), 215.482.7242 (Manayunk), 570.344.4030 (Montage); visit kildarespub.com
Now Serving
 Ms. Tootsie's Restaurant Bar Lounge, 1314 South Street, Philadelphia, a dining destination in the city for "real soul food" is now serving dinner at the property owned and operated by Philadelphia native and celebrated restaurateur KeVen Parker.
"I want diners to expect the same renowned Ms. Tootsie's flavors savored next door at Ms. Tootsie's Soul Food Café, at Ms. Tootsie's Restaurant Bar Lounge but with chic environs and full bar service," said Parker. He also announced the new hours for Ms. Tootsie's Restaurant Bar Lounge, Monday-Thursday 5 to 11 p. m. and Friday-Saturday 5 p. m. to midnight.
Next door, Parker said that he has also expanded hours at his neighboring Ms. Tootsie's Soul Food Café that will now be open Friday, Saturday, Sunday, from noon to midnight, or diners can order take out from the cafe for more casual dining at home.
For more information, call 215.731.9045; or visit kevenparker.net
|
|
|
What They Said:
copyrighted 2009 |
|
 Queer food celebrity Ted Allen, one of the former Fab Five for Bravo's "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" hasn't stopped enjoying his life on television. Now he's host to his own cable show, "Chopped," a competition show (what else?) with four chefs competing weekly for a top prize of $10,000 and the opportunity to have impressed Allen and his audience who frequent such forms of entertainment on the Food Network. The author of his own cookbook, "The Food You Want to Eat," Allen maintains his weight by eating small portions, doesn't eat food products like SPAM (too many preservatives), and flavors up the ordinary dishes like meat loaf. He admitted to queer writer Matt Kailey (OutFrontColorado, January 28, 2009): "I've grown to like meat loaf. I didn't used to like it, but I make it kind of Italian style, with a mix of beef and pork, and try to lighten it up. . .I have a recipe for walnut sauce, so instead of putting ketchup on it, you actually make a sauce that's a little more interesting. . . ."
____________________________
 Queer in-your-face photographer Robert Mapplethorpe provoked the sensual, the sexual, and the erotic in his art. With the revisiting of his explicit, homosexual images at the current Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in University City, Philadelphia, it is worth a look at the definition of the erotic mind (something that Mapplethorpe not only captured, but embraced, even celebrated). In "The Erotic Mind: Unlocking the Inner Sources of Sexual Passion and Fulfillment," (Harper Collins Publishers, 1995), Jack Morin, Ph. D., writes: "Eroticism is the process through which sex becomes meaningful. By the time we reach adulthood we've all discovered that, by itself, sex can be little more than a collection of urges and acts. But the erotic is intricately connected with our hopes, expectations, struggles, and anxieties--everything that makes us human. Whereas sex can be simple, by its very nature eroticism is complex, and from this richness true passions are born."
____________________________
 Queer British artist David Hockney has romanced both men and his adopted mythic City of Angels that he literally fantasized back in his native England in his drawings, prints and paintings over several decades. In "David Hockney" (Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1981), art historian Marco Livingston wrote of Hockney: "Hockney has admitted that much of the attraction of Los Angeles for him was a sexual one, and that his image of the place was formed as much by John Rechy's homo-erotic novel 'City of Night' (1963) as by the photographs and magazines that he had seen." Speaking on his fascination with Los Angeles, Hockney said: "I think that my notions were quite accurate in the sense that L. A. is a city where you can go and find whatever in a sense you want, and I found what I kind of expected."
 |
 |
Events on the Qt! |
> Sunday (February 15)
Giovanni's Room
America's World-Class Bookstore
for Queers & our Friends
A Reading with CAConrad
Sunday, February 15, 2009 5:30 PM
@ Giovanni's Room
12th & Pine Sts in Philly's "Gayborhood"
215.923.2960
CAConrad is the author of The Book of Frank
The title character in CAConrad's The Book of Frank becomes an adult only after his mother dies, but even as a child he was prone to mystic visions. Now, he makes up movies in his head that people pay to watch from inside his body. He might as well be a poet. In his candid portrayal of human cruelty and its resultant fantasies of escape, CAConrad has written that rarest of poetry books-a gripping page-turner.
-Alan Gilbert
For more information, visit giovannisroom.com
> Sunday (February 22)
 The Red Carpet Party
OscarÒViewing Event and Fundraiser
- Large Scale OscarÒCeremony Projection
- Two Floors of Fun
- Open Bar
Sunday, February 22, 2009
7:30 - 11 PM
Oscar ÒBroadcast begins at 8PM
@
The Ethical Society Building
1906 South Rittenhouse Square
Center City Philadelphia
Advance Tickets $50 or $75 at the Door
Students $30 at door with valid ID's
TICKET PRICE INCLUDES OPEN BAR & GOURMET FOOD SELECTION!
Cuisine by Chef Amanda MacWilliams, of Striped Bass Restaurant fame.
ATTIRE: Black Tie to Blue Jeans
For more information, visit traversetheater.org/oscar
> Sunday (February 15)
 Mama Mia Sing a Long
ONE NIGHT ONLY-- Hiway Theater Benefit Event
Sunday, February 15th at 7:00 p.m.
The hit movie musical Mamma Mia! will be back at the Hiway Theatre for just one night in a special sign-a-long format with Philadelphia's own Chumley and Carlota Ttendant leading the evenings festivities.
Fun for the family this movie event is like no other and includes a dessert reception, a dance contest, and party favors.
We will also be picking the winning raffle ticket for our Tuscany Villa Vacation raffle that night!
Proceeds from this event benefit The Hiway Theatre, a non-profit community theatre. To learn more about sponsoring the event, or donating food or goodies contact Fred at 215.886.9802.
For tickets and other information visit hiwaytheatre.org
Coming in March
Kiss Me I'm Irish and Gayä
Shut Up & Dance 2009
|
|
Economy got you down?
Freelance Job Busters!
Looking for extra income?
Commission for Sales!
BUCKmonkey is seeking people-oriented, sales-driven, freelancers to sell advertising and sponsorships for online, print and special events (some annual, well-established, corporate and nonprofit, and some one-time only, niche marketing for LGBT and mainstream) on a lucrative commission-only tiered basis. Individuals must be personable, professional and be motivated to make money through sales.
Experience good but not required if willing to learn, positive attitude and highly motivated.
Start immediately. Must be willing to work some evenings and some weekends.
Home office encouraged. Send one-page resume, with references to Thom.Cardwell@BUCKmonkey.net
|
Do you...
...have something you want to say?
-
...have a question you want answered?
-
...have news you want to report?
-
...have an announcement you want noticed?
-
Then email it to
info@QUEERtimes.net
| |
